The heyday of American Legion baseball on the Peninsula, from the 1960s to 1980s, when a big Warwick Post 255 vs. Newport News Post 25 game could draw more than 1,000 fans to Deer Park, is well in the past.

The proliferation of travel ball has siphoned off much of the top-shelf talent, and the costs to Legion posts of fielding teams has become so high that there are only five senior-level teams remaining in the Third District.

One Legion baseball oasis still exists in the area, however — Williamsburg Post 39. About 90 kids tried out this summer, which meant that even after cuts, Williamsburg has three teams of 18 players each.

Williamsburg has two under-17 teams playing on the Third District junior level, one mostly made up of guys expected to play for their schools’ varsity squads next year and another of primarily junior-varsity kids. The flagship team is the 17-19-year-old senior-level group, consisting of players from area baseball powers Warhill, New Kent and Jamestown, along with a smattering of others, college freshmen included.

“We don’t deny that this is kind of a Bay Rivers District all-star team,” Post 39 coach Tom Richardson said. “Last week, we had 16 players in uniform and 15 got into the game. “Because we have a no-entry rule, when we put them in, they’re playing important roles.”

And playing them well. The senior team is off to a 5-1 start and won its first three Third District games by a combined 39-6. Williamsburg has won two of its three non-district games against powerful Greenbrier, the team it lost to in a state tournament play-in game a year ago.

Richardson’s roster includes Warhill graduate and current Hampden-Sydney pitcher Teddy West, the 2012 Bay Rivers District Pitcher of the Year, as well as 2013 Bay Rivers District Player and Pitcher of the Year Michael Brumfield of Warhill.

Throw in William and Mary-bound Matt Smith — who pitched a no-hitter in a win over Greenbrier — Hampden-Sydney’s Trevor Otey and New Kent ace Matt Metheny, a first-team All-Bay Rivers pick, and Richardson’s biggest problem is finding innings for his pitchers.

Richardson’s solution is simple: Play lots of games. Williamsburg could play as many as 30 this summer.

“If you can start on a top travel team, then you should play travel ball,” Richardson said. “Otherwise, Legion is a better alternative.

“For $200, it’s the cheapest form of summer baseball you can play for the number of games you get. If you’re a pitcher and we play 30 games, you start every fourth or fifth game, so you’re getting the number of starts you desire and what colleges ultimately want you to get.”

There’s another draw for guys like West, the same one that attracted players from erstwhile Newport News High and from Warwick or Menchville high schools back in the day. It gives them one more chance to play with their high school teammates and against former high school foes.

“I was contacted by travel teams and summer-league teams, but I thought about how much fun I could have if I played Legion,” West said. “I’ve never been one to chase baseball as a job, so I would rather play with my buddies one more time.

“And I knew the quality of competition would be good, because we have six or seven first-team All-Bay Rivers District players on the team, and that I’d be coming back and facing college (caliber) hitters.”

Some of his toughest competition comes in practice, and much of it hails from New Kent. Left fielder Jake Countiss, center fielder Dakota Oxendine and shortstop Mason Downer were first-team All-Bay Rivers selections.

All three have swung hot bats this summer. Downer has perhaps the biggest hit for Williamsburg thus far, a three-run walk-off double in the 5-4 victory over Greenbrier.

The brass ring all of the players and coaches are grasping for is a state championship. While it’s likely Williamsburg would qualify for the event on performance, it is already assured of a berth because Post 39 is hosting the state tourney at the Warhill Sports Complex.

“Having the automatic berth allows us to play more loose,” West said. “We’re fully confident that we’re one of the better teams in the state.

“If we get hot and stay hot, we can win it.”

Richardson, Post 39’s 13th-year coach, said, “This is our best chance ever of winning a state championship. We’re deeper than we’ve ever been at multiple positions.”